Behavioral responses induced by electrical stimulation of the caudate nucleus in freely moving cats

The caudate nucleus and adjacent structures of 26 freely moving cats were stimulated through multiwire electrodes chronically implanted. Two main effects here observed with trains of pulses of high frequency (100 Hz) and short duration (1 s): (1) contralateral head turning and (2) arrest reaction, which was associated with crouching and escape behavior. The responses follow a certain topographic distribution. Head turning was elicited with the lowest mean threshold in sites located in the internal two-thirds and caudal region of the caudate nucleus, while the arrest reaction was elicited from the ventromedial region of the caudate and adjacent nucleus accumbens. Stimulation of the corpus callosum and internal capsule produces postural instability, ventral flexion of the head and flexion of the contralateral limb. The extra-caudate responses were accompanied by contralateral head turning when the stimulated points were near of the caudate border. Experimental evidence suggested that striatal responses were not due to current spread to adjacent structures or to activation of corticofugal fibers. The head rotation was suppressed following interruption of the ipsilateral striatal outflow by electrolytic lesion of the globus pallidus and adjacent internal capsule. The chemical lesion of the substantia nigra and the ventral pallidum produced a significant increase in the stimulation threshold for head turning and arrest reaction, respectively. These results suggest a topographic arrangement of the responses evoked by electrical stimulation of the caudate nucleus in the cat, which are mediated by the substantia nigra pars reticulata and the ventral pallidum.